Literary Analysis of Ben Franklin's Autobiography

While reading Benjamin Franklin's work of literature entitled Autobiography, I was able to identify that Franklin too had been apart of the American Rationalist writing movement. I was able to determine that Franklin had a rationalist writing style due to his use of logic and experimentation in his virtues and the way he carried them out.

One element of Rationalist writing that Franklin used in the making and execution of his virtues was logic. I can see that his thought process that led him to making the virtues used logic and reason. For example, Franklin states in his Autobiography that he was displeased by the morals being preached to him at church, and he says in the passage, "...since not a single moral principle was inculcated or enforced, their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyterians than good citizens."(Franklin 81) So, Franklin decided in his dissatisfaction that he would make up his own list of virtues that he would like by to be a good person, instead of listening to morals that he did not agree with (Franklin 82). This is a very logical to solve a problem because Franklin thought the situation at hand thoroughly and was able to come up with an answer that satisfied his moral needs. Franklin also logically looked up several different thoughts on the different virtues that he wanted to include to find the best definition for his list of virtues (Franklin 82).

Besides logic, Franklin also used experimentation in his quest to find a set of virtues right for him. Franklin used experimentation when he made a little table for himself that had a spot for each virtue on his list (Franklin 85). Franklin says in the passage, "..I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day."(Franklin 85). This means that Franklin could go through his daily life and see what virtues on his list he was breaking his rules on (Franklin 85). After observing himself and his habits for awhile, then he would be able to see what virtues he needed to improve on or what virtue were not so important to him after all. He was also able to determine his strength in a particular virtue and whether he could move on to the next virtues on his list or not (Franklin 86). This experimentation with his habits allowed Franklin to fully observe his results so he could fix them according to logic.

In conclusion, two elements of Rationalism that Benjamin Franklin uses in the making and execution of his virtues are logic and experimentation. By using a rational approach to creating morals for himself, Franklin was able to create a system of virtues that met his morality needs.



Bibliography: Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. London: J.M. Dent, 1948. Print.